Last night
the rain
spoke to me
slowly, saying,
what joy
to come falling
out of the brisk cloud,
to be happy again
in a new way
on the earth!
That’s what it said
as it dropped…
Mary
Oliver
__________________________________________
dry
the dryness of the high desert
where I have lived among the sagebrush and juniper
where alkaline earth cracks in the summer sun
and blue skies are eternity
dry
the devastating months and years of drought
sucking life out of the soil
emptying the rivers
leaving famine in its wake
dry
those moments when you have gone too far
too fast
too long
when your soul is withered and cracked
and even the plentiful feast of grace
tastes like sawdust in your mouth
we all spend time in the desert
in those places where we are stretched thin
where parched we long to feel the rain
fall on barren ground
where we wait
eyes straining as we gaze at a perpetually blue sky
where the sun blazes unrelentingly,
waiting for a sign
for one little cloud
for rain
how we long for rain
to smell the dust, damp
to feel the air full of moisture
to see the clouds roll in, their blackness not
threatening
but promising
we all spend time in the desert
where thirsty we long for springs of living water
welling up within our souls
where we wait for that sense of Sacred presence
to come down and drench the earth
with transformation
Oh, heavens above,
rain down righteousness;
let the clouds shower down love and hope, peace and joy
Let the earth open wide,
Let our hearts open wide
receiving the gift
letting it soak us, fill us
until salvation springs up,
out of our dry souls (Isaiah 45)
O Lord,
Advent here
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